Click!
"Tadaima (I'm home)~"
Kasumi Haruno opened the door. She bent down at the shoe rack in the entryway, putting down the groceries and her school bag, preparing to change into her indoor slippers.
"Okaeri (Welcome home)~"
A soft voice responded, exactly the same as the one on the phone last night.
"It's Rikuto. Did you pay attention in class today?" Kasumi Haruno finished changing shoes, straightened up, and asked the young boy in front of her with a natural smile.
"I... I'm sorry. Because I was worried about you, Big Sister Kasumi... I didn't pay attention in class at all today..." Hearing Kasumi Haruno's concern, Rikuto Haruno felt a bit relieved that the person in front of him seemed fine, but also a little ashamed that his performance in school today was poor.
"It's okay. You were only worried about me, Rikuto, so I won't blame you. But you must take my tutoring seriously later. Uncle and Auntie transferred me here to look after you, so you can't let down their expectations." Kasumi Haruno reached out, ruffled Rikuto Haruno's hair, and spoke gently.
"Alright, you go upstairs and do your homework first. I'll start making dinner."
Kasumi Haruno put her hand down, placed her bag on the sofa, and then went into the kitchen. Rikuto Haruno watched Kasumi's movements for a moment, admiration evident in his eyes. However, to make her happy, Rikuto quickly went upstairs to do his homework after a short while.
I must not disappoint Big Sister Kasumi!
Back in his room, Rikuto Haruno braced himself and immediately immersed himself in his homework.
Their parents worked for the same company. Their previous allowance, after covering three meals a day, wasn't much—just enough for a cheap dessert, perhaps.
This year, a new subsidiary opened elsewhere, and one of their parents, a highly capable person, was transferred out. That parent suggested transferring the other three as well. It was initially a long shot, but everyone agreed.
Caught off guard, they hadn't prepared much, so they had Kasumi Haruno transfer schools to look after Rikuto Haruno. The first few months were the busiest; their parents could only call occasionally to check in and chat, let alone spare time to return home.
However, moving to a new location meant a job upgrade, and their combined salary essentially doubled. Thus, Kasumi and Rikuto's living expenses became much more comfortable—but only compared to the majority of ordinary people. In Alistair's family, even Yukiko, one of the Chitose Trio, spent more on daily food and clothing than she did. The cost of various books, bookmarks, and literary items for Yukiko was considerable.
Therefore, Kasumi Haruno was very curious about Alistair's family situation. The items Alistair had casually bought for her—she quickly calculated—were worth almost a month's living expenses for her and Rikuto. Even the snacks were from an upscale store that she had to save up to visit...
"Ah! Oh no... it's burnt..."
Suddenly smelling a strong burnt odor, Kasumi Haruno frantically flipped the fish in the pan. The side she had been frying was completely blackened.
Fortunately, it was only one side of this one fish. She could just eat it herself.
Wearing an apron, Kasumi Haruno patted her chest in relief, causing tempting waves to ripple—a sight unfortunately appreciated by no one.
...
"Sister Kasumi, did you... make a mistake?" Rikuto Haruno asked, looking at the half-burnt fish in Kasumi's bowl, then at the presentable fish in his own.
"Uh, yes. I suddenly remembered some things. But it's fine, it still tastes okay. But instead of talking about this, tell me about your day at school." Kasumi Haruno noticed Rikuto didn't press the matter and smoothly glossed over it, stiffly changing the subject.
"My day at school? Nothing much happened, actually. But I met a new friend recently named Eita Yamano. He has the same dream as me." Rikuto Haruno didn't mind Kasumi changing the subject and continued with the conversation.
"The same dream? What is it?" Kasumi Haruno took a small bite of the fish, inwardly grimacing at the taste, but outwardly maintaining a calm expression as she asked. She knew Rikuto wanted to attend the same school as her and had even confessed his feelings recently. Although she had refused him then, Rikuto decided he'd wait until he got into the same school before she considered it. She didn't dislike her cousin and had agreed.
However, she belonged to Alistair now, so there was no future with Rikuto, and she had abandoned the idea. Asking about it now, she suddenly remembered their agreement, and a few guesses crossed her mind.
"Eita has a childhood friend, but she's one year older than him, so she's already in the first year at Kōri Sakura Academy. Eita is still in his third year of junior high, so they had to separate this year. Later, Eita told me that he wants to get into the same school to spend more time with his childhood friend."
Rikuto Haruno recalled the conversation as he spoke. Afterward, he glanced at Kasumi Haruno's face, trying to see if her expression indicated any willingness to accept his proposal after thinking about it these past few days. Instead, he found Kasumi's expression unchanged, as if she were simply listening to a story.
"Oh, by the way, every afternoon I see Eita calling his childhood friend. I saw him doing it every day for a while, but lately, he seems to have joined some club and has club activities, so I don't see him as much. She's a purple-haired girl who's really beautiful, and her chest looks even bigger than yours, Big Sister Kasumi... Uh, I'm sorry..."
Rikuto Haruno described the appearance of Eita Yamano's childhood friend, detailing his impressions. As he spoke, he suddenly realized his comment was inappropriate and quickly stopped to apologize to Kasumi.
"It's okay. But what did you say your friend's childhood friend looks like? Purple hair?" Kasumi Haruno shook her head, indicating she wasn't offended, and asked about the girl's appearance again. She felt the girl Rikuto described sounded familiar.
"Hmm... She has purple hair, she's extremely pretty, and... and..." Rikuto Haruno couldn't continue, his cheeks slightly flushed.
"Go on. It's okay. It's perfectly normal for boys to be interested in figures. All boys reach that age. I won't think differently of you because of it." Kasumi Haruno reassured him.
"Well, and the purple-haired sister has a really big chest and a great figure. I just don't know her name... Eita hasn't told me that, I only know she's in the first year at Kōri Sakura Academy..." Rikuto Haruno only mentioned the striking physical attribute, then quickly glossed over the rest. Finished speaking, he lowered his head and focused on attacking his dinner, completely avoiding Kasumi Haruno's gaze.
Purple hair, a really big chest, a girl who can compare with me or even be bigger... I think I know who that is, and she's in my class...
Could it be Natsuha Shinomiyagi?
Kasumi Haruno thought, recalling the girl who sat behind Mina in class, a girl whose beauty was on par with her own.